Mumbai Urban Transport Project

• The Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) is Mumbai's biggest-ever comprehensive transport management plan.It is the first step to improve rail and road transportation infrastructure in this traffic-choked mega-city,  India's commercial and financial center, and one of the most densely populated areas in the world. 

The project is also the first attempt in India and the World Bank to resettle such a large number of people in an urban area. The resettlement process itself has become a pioneering exercise in improving the lives of the urban poor. The process has yielded many lessons that will be useful in future projects in India and the world. 

The total project cost is US$945 million. Of this, the World Bank has financed US$542 million. The loan came into effect in November 2002; the project is still ongoing.

Improvements to Infrastructure:

• Roads: Two major east-west roads are being converted into six-lane highways to ensure the smooth and safe flow of traffic. Some 644 new user-friendly buses with larger carrying capacity have been introduced, modernizing the bus fleet.
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• Rail: The project is increasing the speed and capacity of Mumbai's suburban rail system, the lifeline of the city. Additional railway track is being added to enable it to carry more trains. Newer, modern, better-ventilated and more comfortable railway coaches are being introduced; some new coaches are already plying. As a result, the capacity of trains has increased by 7-10 percent during the rush hours, reducing the travel time of hundreds of thousands of passengers.
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• Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R): This is also the World Bank’s first attempt to resettle a very large number of people in an urban area.   Some 17,500 families – including thousands of squatter families living in shacks along railway tracks -- have been relocated to safe permanent dwellings and given legal title to their new housing. As a result, the speed of suburban trains has vastly improved, reducing commuting time for about six million citizens who use the system every day.  More than 700 shops have been relocated to alternative sites.
  
  The resettlement process itself has become a pioneering exercise in improving the lives of the urban poor, yielding many valuable lessons that can be put to use in future projects in India and the world.

More on Resettlement | Feature Story |  Slide Show | Video: Moving Mumbai

Additional Facts on the Resettlement:

• Families now have formal ownership of their homes. Homes are fitted with running water and electricity, and with indoor toilets.
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• The interim findings of an independent impact assessment conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences shows that 80 percent of the resettled people, especially the women, are happier at the resettlement site.
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• At the Mankhurd site - the largest resettlement site under MUTP where about 6,000 families have been resettled - average household income has gone up from almost  Rs.3,000 before resettlement, to over Rs 5,000 now. When adjusted for inflation, this shows a real rise of 30 percent in average income.
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• At the Majaz resettlement site, the average household income has risen from almost Rs. 5,000 to almost Rs. 8,000 now which, adjusted against inflation, shows a real rise of 26 percent.  
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• About 50 percent of the resettled families are reported to have bought household assets such TV, fans, mobile phones, cooking gas, etc after resettlement. The findings also indicate that the resettled families now have a new sense of self-esteem, and experience greater safety and privacy in their new homes.

Project Details:

Link to MUTP site of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)